BUTTE — On a weekday morning at the Butte Emergency Food Bank, the sound of bags rustling and tin cans dropping into grocery carts is barely audible over the hum of the giant refrigeration system. It's calm and quiet now, but come Saturday there will be a flurry of activity as volunteers and thousands of pounds of food roll into the facility for the 36th annual Thompson Family Food Drive.
"This is one of my most favorite times of the year. It just—seeing everybody come together and do something this big for the community—Butte is the only place in the world, I think, that can pull this off," says Josh Thompson, a grandson of the founders of the citywide food drive.
Thompson was just a toddler when his family saw a need in the community and stepped up to provide resources for a massive food drive.
When his family’s distributing company sold a few years ago, they turned to their competitor to ask for help in carrying on the tradition.
"We started about six years ago when Scott and his dad—I remember the day they came into my office. They said the first ones they thought of was Harrington Pepsi and we said, 'How can we turn you down?'" says Jim Bennett, chief operating officer of Harrington Pepsi.
Since 1989, over 2 million pounds of food and almost $900,000 in cash donations have been collected during the event, and Bennett says it wouldn’t be possible without the help of the 700 volunteers on the streets and at the food bank.
"I just started volunteering this week but once I’ve seen the need of the amount of people that come in here, neighbors that you wouldn’t even think need help are showing up. It definitely pulls on your heartstrings," says Danny Sartain, a brand-new volunteer.
Josh Thompson says the event is the traditional start to the holiday season for his family.
"I think I’ve been doing this since I could probably walk, so it always felt like Christmas, like being able to go around and you get to pick up all the bags. You’re bringing it. You’re giving it to people. I mean, that’s exactly what it felt like. You felt like one of Santa’s elves basically going around and helping out.
Volunteers will be in your neighborhood beginning at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 to collect bags of nonperishable food items or cash donations made to the Butte Emergency Food Bank.
